Beyond the Horizon
by butterfly-tree
Summary: A Mix between Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings with alot of other sci fifantasy elements involved. Beyond the Horizon tells the latest stories of Crystiniana crystal Sunrider and her rollercoaster of a life. Shes been a Jedi, a Pi


_Prologue _

There was the sound of silence echoing across the deep hallways of the Jedi temple; common at this hour to hear such a thing . . . for through the countless floors and the many passages, every Jedi slept in their quarters, dreaming of which many would call 'nothing' – but infact it was in this sleep that they drew the power of self control, self command . . . the power that made sure that they would never have there work distracted by personal feelings, emotions or prejudice. The Jedi were guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy and with this clouding their judgement, it would be impossible to keep situations in order.

Though, there was one rare case that proved this ancient theory wrong. Crystiniana Sunrider was nowhere near the dark side of the force, nor did she use her personal opinions to bring about any unnecessary enemies. She was in most respects a perfectly professional woman, even though she had encountered such a great list of tragic and emotional events in her life. 'Crystal' as most people called her, had been married twice now, in the last few years of the long elven life. It was not until a certain mission went wrong about fourteen years back, that her life had made any real progress at all. . . there was so much now she had to look back upon and more memories than shed ever had previously in her day to day patterns of thinking.

Infact Crystal Sunrider thought so much these days, that it was rare for her ever to fall asleep without a dream buzzing in her head.

"Crystiniana." a familiar voice murmured in her ear. The voice of a man that she long hoped would never have to face the dark secret she held; concealing the desperate act to why she lay in his arms every night. It wasn't that she was desperate in the way of lust, it was purely due to her lost heart – and once her first husband had guided her into the feeling of being safe and cared for . . . she couldn't help but need to feel it once more; even if it did mean that the man shed share it with would never be anything more than a friend in her mind – the ring upon her finger she saw as a gift, nothing more.

Of course she felt guilty. How ever could she truthfully say that she enjoyed playing with people's emotions? And guilt of all things was a fiend that Crystiniana had pursuing after her on a daily basis since she'd left Jack.

"Mmm, what?" she mumbled in reply to his waking her, the pillow softly hiding her gentle, ancient elven accent.

"You have a meeting in an hour; I thought I should warn you." his response informed her and soon enough she managed to pull herself up out of the covers.

"Tha' bloody alarm should have gone off fifteen minutes ago." Crystal complained, using her hands to flatten any stray hairs upon her golden head. Her husband gazed at her, quite taken back by the sudden out burst of frustration . . . and the smudged eye liner from the night before that left tear stained marks down her pale cheeks.

"You've been crying again." He blinked, not knowing any other way to tell her at this half-asleep moment in time.

"Obi-wan." She raised an eyebrow, "stop being so dreary. Why ever would I of been crying?"

He looked at her and held back a sigh. Obi-wan always wished she'd trust in him more with her feelings, with everything she held close to her heart. Yet Crystiniana never told her husband anything. She wouldn't dare. Her emotions were strictly kept in quarantine whilst she was in the grounds of the Jedi Temple; she had a hard enough time fitting back in around the other masters, without talking about how she was felt every five minutes.

Crystal swiftly got up and walked over to the washroom, catching a glance of herself in the mirror.

There was a pause as she noticed the tearstains, not quite knowing how she should react. A wave of remorse came over her mind as there was still a dull silence from the other room.

The hush was interrupted as a sudden rush of water came pattering out of the taps. Crystal cupped her hands and gently splashed her face to clear away the markings before she spoke up again.

"… So I'm meeting this 'war god' today." she notified him, drying the beads of water upon her features, "It should be interesting, never met anyone from that far-out before."

Obi wan stood, slipping on his over-robes "What in the blazes is a 'war god'" he frowned.

"You tell me, I haven't the slightest idea, darling." Crystal replied, smirking as she began to tie her hair back.

"Shouldn't you have researched this or something, I'm pretty sure that would have helped you out…"

"… Research? Me? How pathetic. The guy will either be a basted or a gentleman. Either way it's not like I can't handle him. It would be more interesting to hear about a war god from his point of view anyway, don't you think?"

"Sure, whatever you say, Crystiniana." Obi wan shrugged "I think ill go and wake Anakin up for some training now, when should I expect you back?"

"… you aren't gonna' walk me to the senate?" She poked her head around the door as she hastily threw on some old beige Jedi robes.

"Do you really need me too?" he muttered, reaching for his lightsabre and cloak.

Crystal sighed to herself and continued to get dressed. Obi wan maybe there for her, but she certainly couldn't rely on him to be the slightest bit passionate towards their unusually circumstanced relationship. Though it did make sense of course, for he'd always be accustomed more to the teachings of the Jedi than of the ones of love.

"I'll be going then." He notified her before leaving their quarters. Crystiniana stared at her weary expression in the mirror a moment longer before she gazed across to the time on the alarm clock.

The reflection of her pale face caught a glimpse of the true age she had reached over the years; yet to the un-educated eye there would appear to be a much different women standing in her place - a young, beautiful, golden haired girl. With the most stunning blue eyes; a true rarity of the highest degree.

Though, however; behind those attributes to the beauty that her image so elegantly represented, were memories upon memories; for every thread of ancient knowledge she had ever witnessed hid behind the Galacian eyes her body had come to rely on. Sometimes you could see it, if you managed to look close enough – if you managed to see past her sugar-coated outline and witness the person within these barriers.

There was a sudden beeping noise as the alarm clock started to go off…

"Oh so _now_ you decide to work." She muttered, walking back, barefoot into the bedroom; reaching for some stockings as she went.

She slipped them on swiftly and soon enough she was wearing her old, yet practical, brown leather boots; ready to go.

Crystiniana hurried into the living room, picking up her comlink and other effects before leaving the quarters and in no time at all she was on her way to the republic senate.

In the far distance of the Jedi temple stood a tall, dark featured stranger; hardly noticeable amongst the commotion of the passing crowds. His eyes quite piercing yet at the same time so deeply focused. It was rare to see such a humanoid looking figure in this part of the capital; for it was a meeting place for the congress of each and every star system in the Galactic Republic. Yet as he stood beside the hanger bay, it was clear by the constant gaze his eyes had upon each race, he had never before witnessed such a location.

A hand reached for his comlink, checking the time, anxiously. It was obvious that this place was not at all what he was used to. The constant roar of ships from the near by city centre droned past like a swarm of flies. Coruscant never rested; for it was as if every one on it always had somewhere to be, always had somewhere to get to, always had the need to keep on moving – in truth it was much like any other capital, except for the fact it was the size of an entire planet. The man shuddered as another ship blast through the entrance, landing swiftly to deliver another batch of senators from their distant home planet. He was used to star ships, as was everybody; of course… but this much was just overkill.

Crystal rushed past the groups of officials, hastily looking for the 'war god' shed been assigned to meet today – it was purely for defence reasons of course, the republic liked to know which systems it could trust and which it could not in times of need.

'Godspace' as it was called, was a much more remote star system in the unknown regions of the galaxy and it had recently agreed to send a diplomat in the form of Sakudra Ihabait Siato to build a relationship with the republic on the account of its higher authorities.

She stopped and turned in a full circle, truthfully not even knowing who she was looking out for.

The dark stranger lowered his hood as his brown eyes slowly gazed down upon her, examining the most regular looking woman he had witnessed yet in the senate. His features stayed emotionless even though he did consider her to be quite stunning in the light that caught her face as she glanced in his direction.

"You..." Crystal raised an eyebrow as she caught him looking "…Haven't by _any chance_ seen a war god around here, this morning?"

He gradually took a step forward "Aye, sure I have… when I caught my reflection in your eyes just now." His strong build towered above Crystal as he looked down upon her. She blushed slightly, wondering how long she'd kept him waiting.

"Well, that makes this situation a lot easier." She replied finally, smiling gently… yet his face still stayed perfectly cold. "I suppose I'll be going with you then...um…"

"…Sakudra." He finished for her. "And you are Crystiniana Sunrider, am I correct?"

There was a silence before she nodded. Already she could see this day getting worse – and to answer back on the statement she made earlier, there was one simple word to describe him. A basted.

"My God-ship is in the hanger bay, I expect you have brought clean clothes and essentials for our journey?" Sakudra asked as they walked along the swarming corridors to the departure bay. His voice still harsh, yet with a hint respect in it this time; clearly he was making some sort of effort to show a fragment more compassion towards her, due to the significance of this 'mission'.

"Aye, of course I have, I'm not stupid." Crystal informed him in a snappy retort.

"I didn't say you were…"

"… You implied it."

Sakudra raised an eyebrow at her, deciding not to get into this any further. Instead he reached for his key and activated the ship that they were approaching…

"So, do you own any transport around here?" He asked out of pure interest… and to break the deafening silence she held against him.

"No." she said simply "I don't drive and I never will. I do not enjoy space travel, or the ships themselves… messy things."

He nodded. Though she'd only been around him for a few minutes, Sakudra was quite easily forming an arrogant and selfish picture of Crystal in his mind. Beside this portrait stood the additional thoughts of hell prevailing ahead of this assignment…

The God-ship was ready for boarding once they had got to the point of its vicinity, and being a gentleman he allowed Crystiniana to board first, slowly following to take the controls at the cockpit.

"It will be a few hours journey before we reach our destination, even with the fastest of hyper drives." Sakudra notified her quietly, trying his best not to get snapped at again.

Crystal didn't reply, instead she kept her eyes upon the window beside her; the glass caught a rather gloomy reflection of the weary features she couldn't be bothered to hide anymore. Slowly she managed a shrug in acknowledgment.

Sakudra kept his gaze on her a moment longer before starting up the engines and indicating the coordinates to the computer. He moved with such ease, it was clear that he was a skilled pilot as well as a God of War.

Chapter 1

**Demon**

'_Arriving at destination in minus 2.4 parsecs'_

Crystal flinched at the sound of the navigational device as it awoke her from a gentle slumber. It wasn't like her to be so tired on a mission, though it was probably due to the fact she hadn't taken any medication before she left this morning…

She caught Sakudra glancing in her direction, noticing that he had already started to take down the ship to an atmosphere of close proximity.

"Godshome." Crystiniana read aloud from one of the many screens buzzing in front of her seat.

"Aye," Sakudra nodded "Godshome is basically our capital planet, though unlike Coruscant, it's very rare to even come across a city..."

Crystal gave a smirk towards him "It's been a while since I've been in such an untouched system." She replied. It was true that Crystiniana had not even set her sights upon a mere tree since a mission over a year ago to one of the moons of Yavin... and even then it had been for diplomatic work, so she had never had much of a chance to explore.

"… 'Untouched'…." Sakudra quoted Crystals remark, looking at her again, "if that were so I wouldn't be here. Being a war god does not mean I am directly in charge of wars – quite the opposite. I must keep peace between the neighbouring dark lands. There are many karsites and dark wizards out there, with there eyes fixed on destroying the beauty of this place for slave labour and bases of armies that they would plan to dominate this galaxy with..."

Crystal nodded. "I know all too well about what you mean, love. It seems we have more in common than what I first thought." She raised an eyebrow spinning in her chair slightly… "Now, that could become a bad habit of mine." A smile came to her face, trying to change the tone of convocation.

"What could?" he mumbled, looking at the controls again.

"…spinning…on this chair." Crystal sighed at his lame reaction.

Sakudra bit on his lip out of habit and didn't respond this time, his eyes fixed on the panels of screens.

A familiar silence returned. Crystiniana crossed her arms and sank down in the chair, sulking like a small child.

Godshome was a very much like Sakudra had described it to be – for there wasn't a building in sight as they landed upon the grass of a meadow. From every angle of this landscape there was acres of forests, mountains and lakes, all interconnected by small streams and sparkling, clear rivers.

Crystal stepped down from the God-ship and took her first breath of fresh air. Sakudra glanced at her before reaching for his effects and starting to head off in the general direction of the gods council.

"Hey, are you just gonna leave your ship here?" she frowned, following quickly.

"Aye," He nodded simply "I can locate it from anywhere so I shan't loose anything if that's what yer worried about, Jedi..."

"My name is Crystiniana." She reminded him sharply "I do not choose to be a Jedi Knight, I just _am_."

Sakudra ignored her; keeping his eyes ahead of him as they carefully stepped over a small stream. And as they did so, thoughts flashed through his mind. Though he hadn't replied upon her earlier remark, it had striked him as the perfect definition also of himself…

Sakudra had never actually chosen to become a war god… he just _was_; neither had he ever decided to take part in anything fate set aside for him. His occupation was infact the entire reason why he had to act this way towards her – he had to play a neutral part in this mission whether it meant seeming rude to Crystal or not.

"…The God's council won't be expecting us until tomorrow..." He clarified quietly "But my apprentice will be waiting at the gates for us and then we shall retire at my residence this evening."

"…I didn't know you had an apprentice." Crystal looked up at him.

"That's because you hadn't researched anything before you left this morning." Sakudra reminded her, raising an eyebrow… "Aye, we all have an apprentice, Stormfriend is my first. He's tandorian, training in elements of the Weatherly kind – hence the name."

"…Okay." She nodded, stroking a piece of her golden hair from her face, "and what are you trained in? ...War by any chance?" she rolled her eyes.

"No, actually… I have the power of all elements." Sakudra watched her as she moved the hair from her face, quickly diverting his gaze to the horizon again.

"…that's basically a lame version of the force." She muttered "People like you, with all your bloody magic disrupt the patterns of the ever binding energy that we use to protect those in need."

"Our teachings are quite clear that we are to never use our powers against the innocent or any that do not prove a threat to justice, master Sunrider."

"…You do not have 'powers', though. The force is a complex energy field that connects us to every living thing in the universe, your use of it is basically an abuse of the whole system, cutting through its delicate rays." Crystal glared at him, "You know; people like you are what interrogate some planets to accuse us of witch craft."

Sakudra didn't have much of a reply so he just apologised softly,

"…sorry..." He raised an eyebrow again, trying his best not to let out a sigh.

Crystal noticed a building in the distance, yet it was nothing beside what she was accustomed to seeing back on Coruscant…

Her eyes gazed around the environment again, realising that though her opinion on the use of their skills was very much opposed, the land they had managed to maintain in such a natural state gave them back the deep respect she held towards their culture. For at least they weren't as power crazy as some of the less functional politicians in the republic senate... and there wasn't a murderer or thief in sight…

As the hesitant colleagues continued to trek on over the soft, green terrain, nothing was said, nor even gestured between them. Infact it was almost perfect…

…Until the winds changed their course…

Sakudra stopped sharply at this very moment, giving out what seemed to be a heavy sigh.

"…Karsites." He muttered as a, what seemed to be, poorly aimed arrow flew past them, piercing easily through a tree in the distance.

Crystal raised an eyebrow at it, coming to the conclusion that Godshome might not be such a paradise after all…

Two more shot past, nearly grazing the side of her face with accuracy this time.

"Get down!" Sakudra yelled at the top of his voice, drawing a razor sharp sword from his belt. Crystal frowned at him in irritation and drew her lightsabre instead.

"…I'm called a _MASTER_ of the _force_ for a reason, you know!" she retorted back at him, angrily.

Sakudra just gave an unimpressed growl and swung his blade in the general direction of an approaching karsite… its disfigured face and heavy metal armour made it stand out to be much more terrifying than it actually was, for the karsite race had always been but a pawn in the dark wizards' schemes for power and destruction over godspace.

Crystal had no time to learn this though. Another came at her from behind and sharply she turned… decapitating its filthy, boar-like head in one slash of her glowing, white blade. Sakudra didn't have so much luck with the first one though, for its thick armour made it impossible for his sword to make a clear cut to the flesh.

"Stand back!" he yelled, warning her once more to keep out of his way.

Crystal grumbled and did as she was told, running to the shelter of a nearby tree. She turned just in time to see his god sword glow brightly before bursting into flames – and as it did, Sakudra slashed against the karsites almighty shield. There was the sound of pure silence before a large crash. The decapitated karsite fell to the ground, its armour now a blood stained tomb for the lifeless body inside.

As he stood there for a moment longer as his god sword returned to its usual silver varnish. His breathing calmed and he looked directly at Crystal.

"_Great_. His head will explode if it gets any bigger than _this_." She mumbled to herself before give a slight cough, putting away her lightsabre to its usual position on her utility belt. It clicked into position and she began to stride back over to him.

Sakudra still hadn't turned his gaze away. Something wasn't right… and crystal noticed it much sooner before Sakudra had even began to realise…

"…Your eyes." She stopped in her tracks, a few metres away from him… "Are you alright, Sakudra?"

He stayed silent, dropping his weapon to the ground. Crystal moved towards him a little further…

"What is wrong with you?" she repeated. His eyes flickered, a bright yellow…

…A hand reached for her lightsabre…

"…Sakudra?" she repeated, almost stuttering the words from her mouth.

"...Scarpagion..." He corrected her, in a low, husky tone. Crystal didn't move, still with her hand upon the hilt of her weapon…

"Who's Scarpagion?" she frowned in worry. Sakudra's features just smirked in a malevolent manner, slowly changing colour from a light tan, to a shade as dark as midnight itself. Scales formed over his skin until there was no glimpse left of what she had once recognised him as… a quiet hum went through the air as she activated her weapon.

Sakudra's new form increased in size, keeping the smirk upon its face as he looked down upon her. Ripped, dark wings spread across the creature's back and fangs as sharp of daggers grew from his jaws. It glared at the small and hopeless lightsabre that she had to defend herself with.

"…a woman." It growled softly "…I've never come across one willing to stay in my path for so long." The fowl stench of rotten flesh gusted out from his large jaws. Crystal still did not move from her position.

"Well obviously you have never come across _me_…" she muttered

Scarpagion laughed once more before he lifted a deadly claw to strike her with…

"Your confidence amuses me, mortal; I will take pleasure in making sure I devour you alive. Then we shall see who is more powerful, yes?" His palm came down upon her and she leapt out of the way of his powerful aim with ease…

"Bring Sakudra back or I shall destroy you." Crystal muttered angrily. She didn't appreciate anyone calling her weak – especially not demons for that matter… even though she had never encountered one until now.

"Sakudra won't be returning for a while, you pathetic woman… I must feed before I allow him to regain his form." Scarpagion's teeth growled at her, pieces of undigested flesh and bone still lying within them from his last meal.

"Well why pick on me when there are far more substantial around for you. You'll get naught out of a 'pathetic woman' such as myself." She noted… now wishing that she had maybe done a bit of research on war gods before she had left this morning.

Scarpagion growled and tried again to cause her some damage. Crystal swung her lightsabre into the palm of his hand this him and he quickly retreated, decreasing in size as the pain lessened his power.

They were now almost level. Crystal pointed her weapon in the direction of his neck. "I am warning you once again, demon. I shall destroy you if you do not return Sakudra Siato to me right now." She warned with more irritation in her tone this time.

Scarpagion smirked at her "You destroy me. You destroy your friend."

Crystal looked at him closely, wanting to correct him on the comment that he made about them being friends. Instead she withdrew her sabre and stared at him forcefully.

"Don't make this difficult." She snapped "Just do as I say and you may feed at a more appropriate moment in ti…" her speech was interrupted as she hit the ground, swiftly falling unconscious.

Scarpagion's eyes gleamed as her turned her onto her back.

"Pathetic mortal..." He grinned, preparing to feast upon her motionless body. A claw came down to make the first cut of her delicate flesh, yet at this very moment he was interrupted by a loud and terrifying roar of thunder. The skies turned dark and clouds gathered in vast amounts as it began to rain heavily upon them.

Scarpagion let out an annoyed growl in response, looking away from crystal to see a shady figure before them.

"Well I have to say, scarpy," he smirked, "we haven't encountered you in a while." The boy took a step forward, letting down his hood to reveal a pale young man, with sharp blue eyes, that seemed to change their tone with the movement of the storm clouds themselves.

Before Scarpagion could reply there was a lightning bolt and immediate thud as his body hit the ground. Slowly it transformed back into a rather weary looking Sakudra.

"You're late." The boy commented as soon as his master opened his eyes.

Sakudra sat up and looked around, his hair now soaked from the rain, dripping down upon his face.

"I know." He replied casually, standing once again.


End file.
